Display Device

ABSTRACT

A display device includes a display panel, a circuit connection module, and a supporting block. The display panel has a first end and a bottom surface. The circuit connection module has a connecting end, a circuit bearing portion, and a bending section between the connecting end and the circuit bearing portion. The connecting end is connected to the display panel at the first end while the bending section bends to make the circuit bearing portion connect to the bottom surface near the first end. The supporting block is arranged with the circuit bearing portion in an extending direction of the first end, and are at least partially connected to the portion of the bottom surface near the first end.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to a display device. Particularly, theinvention relates to a display device whose thickness is reduced.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In recent years, various display devices have been widely used in ourlives. For example, devices such as televisions, computers, mobilephones, video game consoles, and automotive devices all contain displaydevices. In the development of display device technology, the trendcontinues to move towards large display area, narrow bezels or even nobezels in order to bring people a better visual experience.

Traditionally, an external control circuit board connected to thedisplay panel is usually disposed at the bottom of the display device.However, in the pursuit of narrow bezels or frameless display devicedesign solutions, the width of the outer frame of the device system mustbe reduced over and over again in order to achieve better visualeffects. Some designs fold the external control circuit board to theback of the backlight module of the display device to reduce the widthof the bottom frame of the display device. Nevertheless, the folding ofthe control circuit board to the back of the backlight module increasesthe overall thickness of the display device, and hence it still cannotmeet the requirement of thin design.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a display device whosethickness is reduced.

It is another object of the invention to provide a display device whosedisplay panel is less likely to be broken.

The display device includes a display panel, a circuit connectionmodule, and a supporting block. The display panel has a first end and abottom surface. The circuit connection module has a connecting end, acircuit bearing portion, and a bending section between the connectingend and the circuit bearing portion. The connecting end is connected tothe display panel at the first end while the bending section bends tomake the circuit bearing portion be at least partially connected to theportion of the bottom surface near the first end. The supporting blockis arranged at a side of the circuit bearing portion in an extendingdirection of the first end, and is at least partially connected to theportion of the bottom surface near the first end.

With the aforementioned arrangement, the thickness of the display devicecan be reduced since the circuit bearing portion does not need to beoverlapped with the backlight module. The supporting block can providesupporting force for the display panel. Consequently, when the portionof the display panel near the first end suffers an external force, thesupporting block can support the display panel to resist bending.Additionally, the supporting block can also keep the sides of thedisplay device from colliding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the components of an embodiment of adisplay device;

FIG. 2A is a section view of an embodiment of a display device;

FIG. 2B is a section view of a variant embodiment of a display device;

FIG. 2C is a section view of a variant embodiment of a display device;

FIG. 2D is a section view of a variant embodiment of a display device;

FIG. 3 is a top view of an embodiment of a display device;

FIG. 4A is a section view of an embodiment of a display device;

FIG. 4B is a section view of another direction of an embodiment of adisplay device;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a variant embodiment of a display device;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the components of another embodiment of adisplay device;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a circuitconnection module;

FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of a frame of an embodiment of a displaydeice;

FIG. 8B is an enlarged view of a part of the frame of the embodiment inFIG. 8A;

FIG. 9A is an exploded view of components of another embodiment of adisplay deice;

FIG. 9B is an enlarged view of a part of the frame of the embodiment inFIG. 8A;

FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram of a frame of a variant embodiment of adisplay deice; and

FIG. 10B is a section view of an embodiment of a display deice using theframe shown in FIG. 10A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following describes the implementation of the connection assemblydisclosed by the present invention through specific embodiments anddrawings. Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages andeffects of the present invention from the content disclosed in thisspecification. However, the contents shown in the following sentencesnever limit the scope of the present disclosure. Without departing fromthe conception principles of the present invention, a person havingordinary skill in the present art may realize the present disclosurethrough other embodiments based on different views and applications. Inthe attached FIGs, for the purpose of clarification, the thicknesses oflayers, films, panels, regions and the like are amplified. In the wholespecification, the same marks represent the same element. It should beunderstood that, when an element such as a layer, a film, a panel, aregion or a substrate are described as “being on” or “being connectedto” another element, they may be directly on or connected to anotherelement, or there may be other elements therebetween. On the other hand,when an element is described as “directly existing on another element”or “being directly connected to” another element, there is no elementtherebetween. As used in the present specification, a “connection” maybe a physical and/or electrical connection. In addition, an “electricalconnection” or “coupling” means that other elements may existtherebetween.

It should be understood that, even though the terms such as “first”,“second”, “third” may be used to describe an element, a part, a region,a layer and/or a portion in the present specification, but theseelements, parts, regions, layers and/or portions are not limited by suchterms. Such terms are merely used to differentiate an element, a part, aregion, a layer and/or a portion from another element, part, region,layer and/or portion. Therefore, in the following discussions, a firstelement, portion, region, layer or portion may be called a secondelement, portion, region, layer or portion, and do not depart from theteaching of the present disclosure.

In addition, relative terms such as “lower” or “bottom” and “on” or“top” may be used to describe the relationship between an element andanother element in the present specification, as shown in the FIGs. Itshould be understood that, the purpose of using relative terms is toinclude the different directions of the devices not shown in the FIGs.For example, if a device in an attached FIG is turned upside down, anelement described as being “under” another element will be “on top of”that element. Therefore, a descriptive term “under” may include themeaning of both “under” and “on top of”, depending on the specificorientation of the attached FIG.

The terms “about”, “approximate” or “essentially” used in the presentspecification include the value itself and the average values within theacceptable range of deviation of the specific values confirmed by aperson having ordinary skill in the present art, considering thespecific measurement discussed and the amount of errors related to suchmeasurement (that is, the limitation of the measurement system). Forexample, “about” may mean within one or more standard deviations of thevalue itself, or within ±30% , ±20% , ±10% , ±5% . In addition, “about”,“approximate” or “essentially” used in the present specification mayselect a more acceptable range of deviation or standard deviation basedon optical property, etching property or other properties. One cannotapply one standard deviation to all properties.

The invention provides a display device. The display device can be anon-self-emissive display device or a self-emissive display device. Thenon-self-emissive display device can be, for example, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) device, an electrophoretic display device, a reflectivedisplay device, a transflective display device, etc. The self-emissivedisplay device can be, for example, an organic light emitting diodes(OLEDs) display device, a micro-light emitting diodes (Micro LEDs)display device, etc.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the components of an embodiment of adisplay device. As shown in FIG. 1, a display device includes a displaypanel 100, a circuit connection module 300, and a supporting block 500.In this embodiment, the display panel 100 is a liquid crystal displaypanel and a backlight module 200 is provided thereunder, but not limitedthereto, it may be a self-emissive display panel or a panel having otherdisplay modes. As shown in FIG. 1, the display panel 100 has a first end101 and a bottom surface 103. Particularly, the display panel 100includes a first substrate 110 and a second substrate 120 in thisembodiment. The first substrate 110 is, for example, a pixel circuitsubstrate on which pixel electrodes and routes are disposed. The secondsubstrate 120 is stacked on the first substrate 110, and there may be aliquid crystal layer or other elements with different propertiestherebetween according to the type of the display mode. In thisembodiment, the second substrate 120 may be, for example, a color filterlayer substrate, and a color filter layer is disposed thereon andcorresponds to each pixel unit on the first substrate 110. As shown inFIG. 1 and FIG. 2A, at the position of the first end 101 of the displaypanel 100, the first substrate 110 protrudes from the second substrate120 with a protruding portion 130. In other words, the first substrate110 and the second substrate 120 are not aligned with each other at thefirst end 101, and the first substrate 110 is relatively prominent, butnot limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A, the connecting end 310 of the circuitconnection module 300 is connected to the first end 101 of the displaypanel 100. For example, the connecting end 310 of the circuit connectionmodule 300 can be connected to the surface of the protruding portion 130and electrically connected to the circuit thereon. The circuitconnection module 300 further includes a circuit bearing portion 330 anda bending section 350. In this embodiment, the circuit bearing portion330 is a printed circuit board (PCB), and the bending section 350 is aflexible printed circuit (FPC). One end of the bending section 350 isconnected to the circuit bearing portion 330, and the other end isformed as a connecting end 310. However, in different embodiments, thecircuit bearing portion 330 and the bending section 350 can be made inone piece by cutting a FPC or by other methods. The components 303 suchas a driving circuit, a control circuit, and/or a connection line aredisposed on the circuit bearing portion 330, which can be electricallyconnected to the display panel 100 through the lines on the bendingsection 350.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the bending section 350, for example, is bentaround the extending direction of the first end 101 so that the circuitbearing portion 330 and the connecting end 310 are located on oppositesides of the display panel 100. Particularly, the circuit bearingportion 330 is connected to at least a portion of the bottom surface 103near the first end 101. As shown in FIG. 2A, the circuit bearing portion330 is connected to the bottom surface 103 of the protruding portion130, but not limited thereto. Furthermore, in this embodiment, thecircuit bearing portion 330, for example, may protrude beyond the firstend 101 and have a first lateral end 331 away from the first end 101. Inother words, the circuit bearing portion 330 only partially overlaps thebottom surface 103, but is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 2A, thecircuit bearing portion 330 is connected to the bottom surface 103 via afirst adhesive layer 610; that is, the first adhesive layer 610 isdisposed between the circuit bearing portion 330 and the bottom surface103 so that the circuit bearing portion 330 is bonded to the bottomsurface 103. However, in different embodiments, the circuit bearingportion 330 may be connected to the bottom surface 103 in other ways.The thickness of the entire display device can be reduced with thisarrangement.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the backlight module 200 which has a luminoussurface 210 and a back surface 230 opposite to each other is alsoprovided, wherein the luminous surface 210 faces the bottom surface 103.The portion of the bottom surface 103 near the first end 101 protrudesfrom the backlight module 200, and the circuit bearing portion 330 isconnected to the portion of the bottom surface 103 protruding from thebacklight module 200; consequently, the circuit bearing portion 330 isside by side with the backlight module 200 in the section view shown inFIG. 2A. In this embodiment, in the direction perpendicular to thebottom surface 103, the back surface 230 of the backlight module 200slightly protrudes from the circuit bearing portion 330; that is, theback surface 230 is further away from the bottom surface 103.Nonetheless, the circuit bearing portion 330 may be flush with the backsurface 230 or protrude from the back surface 230.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 2A, a tape 700 may be provided to coverthe outside of the circuit connection module 300. In this embodiment,one end of the tape 700 is attached to the display panel 100, forexample, attached to the display surface 105; the other end is attachedto the back surface 230 of the backlight module 200, bypassing theoutside of the circuit connection module 300.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, the backlight module 200 may be aside-type backlight module including, for example, a light guide plate,an optical film, or a reflective sheet. However, it may also be adirect-type backlight module in different embodiments. As shown in FIG.2B, the backlight module 200 has a back plate 270, a pad 280, and aplurality of light sources 290. The back plate 270 is composed of abearing plate 271 and a side wall 273 at least partially disposed aroundthe bearing plate 271, wherein the bottom surface 103 of the displaypanel 100 is supported by the top of the side wall 273. The pad 280 isdisposed between the top of the side wall 273 and the bottom surface103; it preferably maybe made of rubber or other plastic materials. Inthis embodiment, the back plate 270 is made of metal, but is not limitedthereto. The light sources 290 may be, for example, light emittingdiodes, which are arranged on the bearing plate 271 to form direct-typelight sources.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2C, a frame 275 can be disposed on theback plate 270, and then the display panel 100 can be supported by theframe 275. Moreover, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2D, the top of theside wall 273 is bent toward the center of the backlight module 200 toform a platform 277, and the bottom surface 103 of the display panel 100is disposed on the platform 277.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 to FIG. 4B, the supporting block 500 isarranged with the circuit bearing portion 330 in an extending directionof the first end 101, and is at least partially connected to the portionof the bottom surface 103 near the first end 101. On a projection planeparallel to the bottom surface 103, the supporting block 500 and thecircuit bearing portion 330 are not overlapped with each other. As shownin FIG. 3, the supporting block 500 is disposed on one side of thecircuit bearing portion 330. In an embodiment, the circuit bearingportion 330 may be closer to the middle portion of the first end 101,and the supporting block 500 may be closer to the corner of the firstend 101. In addition, the range of placement of the circuit bearingportion 330 and the supporting block 500 substantially covers the entirelength of the first end 101, but is not limited thereto. In thisembodiment, the supporting blocks 500 are respectively disposed on bothsides of the circuit bearing portion 330, but a single supporting block500 may also be disposed on one side of the circuit bearing portion 330.With the placement of the supporting block 500, when the portion of thedisplay panel 100 near the first end 101 where a circuit connectionmodule 300 is not provided is subject to external force, the supportingblock 500 can provide a supporting force from the back side to reducethe risk of damage.

The supporting block 500 may be made of, for example, plastic such aspolycarbonate (PC) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer,or other materials, which may have, for example, no less than 2 GPa'sYoung's modulus. With this design, the supporting block 500 can providemore sufficient supporting force to support the display panel 100 sothat it will not be easily broken due to bending.

FIG. 4A is a schematic view along the A-A′ section of the embodimentshown in FIG. 3; FIG. 4B is a schematic view along the B-B′ section ofthe embodiment shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, in thisembodiment, the back surface 230 of the backlight module 200 protrudesslightly from the supporting block 500; nevertheless, the supportingblock 500 can also be flush with the back surface 230. Additionally, asshown in FIG. 4A, the supporting block 500 is connected to the bottomsurface 103 via a second adhesive layer 620; that is, the secondadhesive layer 620 is disposed between the supporting block 500 and thebottom surface 103 so that the supporting block 500 and the bottomsurface 103 are bonded together. However, in different embodiments, thesupporting block 500 may be connected to the bottom surface 103 in otherways. As also shown in FIG. 4A, the thickness of the first adhesivelayer 610 and the second adhesive layer 620 may be different, so as toadjust the height of the supporting block 500 and the bottom of thecircuit bearing portion 330.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the support block 500, for example,may at least partially protrude beyond the first end 101 and have asecond lateral end 502 away from the first end 101. In other words, thecircuit bearing portion 330 only partially overlaps the bottom surface103, but is not limited thereto. As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3,the first lateral end 331 of the circuit bearing portion 330 may beflush with the second lateral end 502 of the supporting block 500.However, in different embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, the first lateralend 331 may protrude from the second lateral end 502; that is, thesupporting block 500 is more recessed than the circuit bearing portion330. When the product is assembled, the space vacated by recessing thesupporting block 500 can be used for disposing other mechanisms, such asa hinge for assembling with a system case, and the like.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, the display panel 100 has a second end102. The second end 102 may be, for example, perpendicular to the firstend 101 and in contact with the first end 101 to form a corner 107. Inthis embodiment, the supporting block 500 protrudes at least partiallybeyond the second end 102 and the corner 107 to reduce the chance of thecorner 107 being hit. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 5, the backlight module200 and the side 250 on the side of the second end 102 also protrudebeyond the second end 102. The supporting block 500 is preferably flushwith the side 250, but not limited thereto. With this arrangement, it ispossible to have a smooth product appearance and protect the displaypanel 100 at the same time.

As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, since the circuit connectionmodule 300 protrudes from the supporting block 500, the tape 700therefore has a first wrapping portion 710 and a second wrapping portion720 which correspond to the circuit connection module 300 and thesupporting block 500 respectively. The first wrapping portion 710 andthe second wrapping portion 720 are also arranged along the extendingdirection of the first end 101, and a crack exists therebetween. Asshown in FIG. 6, the crack 701 only cuts part of the tape 700, thereforethe first wrapping portion 710 and the second wrapping portion 720 canstill be connected via the uncut part. With this arrangement, the firstwrapping portion 710 and the second wrapping portion 720 can be bent atdifferent positions to respectively wrap the circuit connection module300 and the supporting block 500 with different protruding lengths.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the circuit bearing portion 330 is aprinted circuit board, and has a first lateral end 331. The bendingsection 350 is formed with a recessed portion 320 on the first lateralend 331, wherein one end of the bending section 350 is connected to thecircuit bearing portion 330 and is partially located in the recessedportion 320. Since the bending section 350 itself is also elastic, acertain amount of space is needed for bending, so as to reduce thedamage to the lines distributed on it due to a small bending radius.With this arrangement, there may be more space to accommodate thebending section 350 after it is bent, without having too small of abending radius of the bending section 350 for the purpose of reducingits volume after bending.

In an embodiment of the invention, the display device can also include aframe; the frame is disposed around the backlight module, and canprovide support for the display panel. As shown in FIG. 8A, the frame275 includes a first arm 2751, a second arm 2752 and a third arm 2753,wherein two ends of the third arm 2753 are respectively connected to oneend of the first arm 2751 and one end of the second arm 2752. At theopposite end to the third arm 2753, the first arm 2751 and the secondarm 2752 respectively include a first free end 2754 and a second freeend 2755 that extend to the first end 101 (not shown). In other words,the first arm 2751, the second arm 2752 and the third arm 2753 togetherform a semi-open area for accommodating the backlight module, and theopening of the semi-open area corresponds to the first end 101. FIG. 8Bis a partially enlarged perspective view of the first arm 2751 shown inFIG. 8A. As shown in FIG. 8B, the first free end 2754 includes a wall279 and a frame roof plate 278 located at the top of the wall 279. Thesecond free end 2755 preferably also includes the wall 279 and the frameroof plate 278 located at the top of the wall 279, and has a structure(not shown) symmetrical to the first free end 2754, but not limitedthereto.

In another embodiment, as show in FIG. 9A, the display device includes adisplay panel 100, a circuit connection module 300, a frame 275 and asupporting block 500. The frame 275 has a first arm 2751, a second arm2752 and a third arm 2753. The first arm 2751 and the second arm 2752respectively include a first free end 2754 and a second free end 2755that extend to the first end 101 (not shown). FIG. 9B is a partiallyenlarged perspective view of the first arm 2751 shown in FIG. 9A. Asshown in FIG. 9B, the first free end 2754 includes a wall 279 and aframe roof plate 278 located at the top of the wall 279. The second freeend 2755 may include a structure (not shown) symmetrical to the firstfree end 2754, but not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 9B, in thisembodiment, the frame roof plate 278 extends beyond the edge of the wall279, and is connected to a supporting block 500. A gap can beselectively sandwiched between the supporting block 500 and the wall 279for other structure components (such as a back plate or a shell) toextend into. The supporting block 500 connected to the frame 275 canprovide sufficient support for the display panel. In this embodiment,the supporting block 500 can be made in one piece with the frame 275,but not limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 10A, in an embodiment of the invention, the frame 275may include the first border 2756, the second border 2757, the thirdborder 2758 and the fourth border 2759. In this embodiment, the firstborder 2756 and the third border 2758 are respectively opposite andparallel to the second border 2757 and the fourth border 2759 to form aclosed rectangular frame. The supporting block 500 is respectivelyconnected to the first border 2756 near the two ends. FIG. 10B is anembodiment of a display device using the frame 275 shown in FIG. 10A. Asshown in FIG. 10B, the display device includes a display panel 100, acircuit connection module 300 and a supporting block 500, and thedisplay panel 100 has a first end 101. In this embodiment, the firstborder 2756 may, for example, correspond to and be parallel to the firstend 101. As shown in FIG. 10A, the first border 2756 includes a wall 276and a frame roof plate 2761 disposed at the top of the wall 276, and theframe roof plate 2761 protrudes beyond the wall surface of the wall 276to be connected with the supporting block 500. The side wall 273 of theback plate 270 can extend between the supporting block 500 and the wall276 to improve the structural stability. With this design, the backlightmodule can be partially or fully surrounded by the frame 275, and theframe 275 can provide support for the display panel 100. Even for adirect-type backlight module, the supporting block 500 connected to theframe 275 can also provide sufficient support for the display panel 100.

The present invention has been described by the above relatedembodiments, but the above embodiments are merely examples forimplementing the present invention. It is noted that, the disclosedembodiments do not limit the scope of the invention. On the contrary,changes and equivalents included in the spirit and scope of claims areincluded in the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device, comprising: a display panelhaving a first end and a bottom surface; a circuit connection modulehaving a connecting end, a circuit bearing portion, and a bendingsection located between the connecting end and the circuit bearingportion, wherein the connecting end is connected to the display panel atthe first end while the bending section bends to make the circuitbearing portion be at least partially connected to the portion of thebottom surface near the first end; and a supporting block arranged at aside of the circuit bearing portion in an extending direction of thefirst end, and at least partially connected to the portion of the bottomsurface near the first end.
 2. The display device according to claim 1,further comprising a backlight module, the backlight module disposedtoward the bottom surface; wherein the circuit bearing portion and thesupporting block respectively connect to a portion of the bottom surfaceprotruding from the backlight module.
 3. The display device according toclaim 2, further comprising a tape, two ends of the tape arerespectively attached to the display panel and a back surface of thebacklight module; wherein the tape covers the circuit connection modulefrom outside.
 4. The display device according to claim 3, wherein thetape has a first wrapping portion and a second wrapping portion arrangedalong the extending direction of the first end, and the first wrappingportion and the second wrapping portion respectively correspond to thecircuit bearing portion and the supporting block; and a crack existsbetween the first wrapping portion and the second wrapping portion. 5.The display device according to claim 2, wherein the backlight modulecomprises: a back plate having a bearing plate and a side wall at leastpartially arranged around the bearing plate, wherein the bottom surfaceof the display panel is supported by a top of the side wall; a paddisposed between the top of the side wall and the bottom surface; and aplurality of light sources arranged on the bearing plate.
 6. The displaydevice according to claim 1, wherein the circuit bearing portion has afirst lateral end away from the first end; the supporting block has asecond lateral end away from the first end; and the first lateral end isflush with the second lateral end.
 7. The display device according toclaim 1, wherein the circuit bearing portion has a first lateral endaway from the first end; the supporting block has a second lateral endaway from the first end; and the first lateral end protrudes outside thesecond lateral end.
 8. The display device according to claim 1, whereinthe supporting block at least partially protrudes outside the first end.9. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display panelhas a second end; the second end is in contact with the first end toform a corner; and the support block at least partially protrudes fromthe corner.
 10. The display device according to claim 9, furthercomprising: a backlight module disposed toward the bottom surface,wherein on one side of the second end, a side of the backlight module isflush with a side of the support block.
 11. The display device accordingto claim 1, wherein the circuit bearing portion has a first lateral end;and the first lateral has a recessed portion, and the bending section atleast partially locates within the recessed portion and is connected tothe circuit bearing portion.
 12. The display device according to claim1, wherein the Young's modulus of the supporting block is not less than2 GPa.
 13. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising:a first adhesive layer and a second adhesive layer respectively disposedbetween the circuit bearing portion and the bottom surface as well asbetween the supporting block and the bottom surface; wherein the firstadhesive layer and the second adhesive layer have different thickness.14. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising: aframe, wherein the frame at least partially extends to the first end andconnects to the supporting block.
 15. The display device according toclaim 14, wherein the frame has a first arm, the first arm has a firstfree end extending to the first arm, and the first free end includes: awall; and a frame roof plate disposed on top of the wall and protrudingbeyond the wall to connect with the supporting block.
 16. The displaydevice according to claim 14, wherein the frame has a first border, thefirst border corresponds to and is parallel to the first end, and thefirst border includes: a wall; and a frame roof plate disposed on top ofthe wall and protruding beyond the wall to connect with the supportingblock.